Good news for French market

Sales of earthmoving equipment in France grew by 21% in 2017 compared to 2016, according to CISMA (the French association of manufacturers of construction equipment and material handling technology).

With some 21,630 machines sold, the French earthmoving equipment market remained the third biggest market in Europe, it said. Overall, equipment sales within the French market have been relatively strong, and CISMA said that 2017 would stand as the best year since the market crash in 2008.

CISMA’s research showed that growth in equipment sales for 2017 was driven by crawler excavators, which were 22% higher than in 2016. This includes mini excavator sales, which were found to be the most popular product, and CISMA said this reflected a strong house building market.

While the mini excavator market is now not far from historical record levels, CISMA said that the wheeled excavator market was doing well too. With 1,800 units, sales increased by 31% and the French wheeled excavator market stood at the level reached in 2005. France is the second biggest market in Europe for wheeled excavators after Germany.

CISMA predicted that in 2018, the building market would remain dynamic, with accelerating growth in the civil engineering sector in particular. It said that this was very good news for machine demand.

“In France,” said CISMA, “all economic indicators are on green and it is highly probable that the pre-crisis record levels will be reached.”